I'm Bobby Curnow, and edit and co-plot the current IDW TMNT comic. I had a "Question" thread over at the IDW forums, but they've been down for a while, so I thought I'd start one here. Feel free to post your questions about any of the IDW TMNT comic books, and I will do my best to answer in an honest and timely manner.

A few "small print" things:
-I will reserve the right to not answer questions that could spoil things like up-coming plot points. Sometimes the mere act of choosing not to answer a question can result in a sorta-spoiler in itself, so bear with me if I ignore a question in regards to future story events, or willfully obfuscate. If I can safely tease something, I may do so, but take it with a grain of salt. It's not set in stone until you read the actual issue. Things can change last minute!

-I get lots of questions about IDW's reprint program. I have almost nothing to do with the reprints, and that department is the most overworked at IDW (just two guys handling EVERYTHING that IDW reprints, which is a lot), so I am very reluctant to take time out of my day and bother those guys. Feel free to ask questions regarding this, sometimes I know or hear things, but don't be upset if I don't have the answer and am unwilling to investigate further. That will probably be the case. It's not my area, and I want to respect the folks whose area it is!

-I've always been impressed with how respectful people are on this forum, but I may chose to not answer questions/statements that I deem to be not respectful to myself or the rest of the creative team (and yes, what is respectful is subjective). That being said, if you've got a concern or critique that is respectfully worded, i'm happy to read it.

-These are my own opinions and thoughts, and as much as is possible, not reflective of IDW or Nickelodeon/Viacom. Though obviously i'm going to tread a line that respects the fact that I am employed by, or work with, them.

Hmm... I think that's it. I'll just take this opportunity, on behalf of Tom, Kevin, the artists and IDW, to thank you all for your support and interest. We are very aware and thankful of it.

EDIT: If you'd like your question to be considered to be included in an upcoming issue of TMNT's Ninja Notes, please mark your post as "OK TO PRINT". Feel free to include your name or place of residence if you'd like, but that is not necessary. I will attribute the question to your screen name if that's all I have.

Bobby, how does it feel to already be over 4 years and 50+ issues into IDW TMNT already? Sometimes it feels like only yesterday the IDW comic started, I can't believe its already been 4 years and over 50+ issues and mini's.

Did you guys ever think you'd get this far? Was it expected to be a success from the start? Looks like we'll reach issue 100 before we know it.

Bobby, how does it feel to already be over 4 years and 50+ issues into IDW TMNT already? Sometimes it feels like only yesterday the IDW comic started, I can't believe its already been 4 years and over 50+ issues and mini's.

Did you guys ever think you'd get this far? Was it expected to be a success from the start? Looks like we'll reach issue 100 before we know it.

Thanks, Cubed!

I think we thought it would be at least a moderate success and we'd get at least a couple years of stories. We aimed for 50 pretty close to the end of the first year, so we had that in our sights for a while. What was unexpected was for word to grow and for sales to either be stable, or go up, over the years. That's been great. I hope we can make it to 100, i'm very excited for some upcoming stuff between now and then.

If IDW were to have to end its TMNT series, how much notice do you think you, Tom, and Kevin would have, and do you think you would be able to wrap up most of the loose ends and plots in that given time?

If IDW were to have to end its TMNT series, how much notice do you think you, Tom, and Kevin would have, and do you think you would be able to wrap up most of the loose ends and plots in that given time?

Hard to say, sometimes decisions can be made quickly. I'd like to say that we'd get a year's notice, in which case we could do something that would be a respectful end of the series, though we'd have to omit a lot of stuff we have planned.

Honestly, I think we need at least until issue #100 to properly address everything we are setting up between now and TMNT #65. Maybe we could pull it off by TMNT #75 with the help of mini-series and whatnot.

I could have a different opinion in a month, or six months, or a year. Everything changes with time!

#1. Not to beat that poor departed horse, but any idea when we can expect the first reprint of TMNT Volume 3 from Image Comics?

#2. Will Kevin be doing an annual this year, and why have we had annuals ever other year instead of truly annual?

#3. Now that TMNT has crossed over with the biggest DC comic character, does IDW have any desire to approach any other big non-IDW franchises for potential future crossovers?

More as I think of 'em. Thank you for taking the time out of your duties to talk with us fans! It's always a pleasure!

1. I just looked at the publishing schedule and I'm not seeing Vol. 3 Image material, which is news to me. We do look to be continuing Tales and Archie. No clue as to why no Vol. 3, I'm disappointed if that's true. (it might not be, the publishing schedule changes frequently)

I'll see if I can get any more information on this next time I bump into the reprint guys.

2. The Annuals were intended to be annual, but the second one was delayed, well, a year! No plans for one this year, Kevin is busy working on a couple different original projects, outside of TMNT. (though we will still be getting covers, and now that he lives in San Diego, we are having more regular brainstorming sessions with him than ever)

3. Outside of Usagi Yojimbo, which is my favorite comic of all time, I personally usually have no taste for crossovers, so I'm not pushing for any. That being said, i've been pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed both Ghostbusters and Batman. And they've been financial successes, so I'm sure we'll see more in the coming years. Those deals are always hard to figure out though, so it's hard to say when and what and if we'll see another crossover.

Great to have a line of communication again! You know we all appreciate it!

My query...

The trade collection containing issues #51-55 is called "Order from Chaos".

Now, is that the name of the whole arc of those 5 issues, or did you have different names for the different storylines ala "Sins of the Fathers"/"Blood Brothers" (even though the trade containing those issues only went by "Sins of the Fathers")?

And heck, since I'm bugging you, will 5-issue arcs be the new norm over the previous 4-issue formula?

Great to have a line of communication again! You know we all appreciate it!

My query...

The trade collection containing issues #51-55 is called "Order from Chaos".

Now, is that the name of the whole arc of those 5 issues, or did you have different names for the different storylines ala "Sins of the Fathers"/"Blood Brothers" (even though the trade containing those issues only went by "Sins of the Fathers")?

And heck, since I'm bugging you, will 5-issue arcs be the new norm over the previous 4-issue formula?

Thanks, as ever!

Truthfully, we rarely have TPB titles in mind when we're scripting, so when the TPB folk ask us, Tom and I are always like "Uhh... how about... THIS!" Some have worked out well, like City Fall. Others, like Vengeance, I haven't been that found of.

I also think the TPBs make people think we are writing for the trade, when we're not. We've had 4-issue story arcs, single issues, two-parters, seven-parters and a three parter coming up. We write what fits the story we have in mind, and hope it's not too jarring when read in TPB form, which I think we've got lucky with.

"Order From Chaos" is really two 2-parters, and a single stand-alone issue. We don't have individual names for those different parts.

Basically, we just try and come up with something appropriate after the fact. Sometimes, like with "Attack On Technodrome" it's easy, sometimes it's not.

Why are the original movie trilogy characters off the table? It was my understanding that Mirage had the rights - which is why Tokka and Rahzar showed up in things long after the movies (and you guys have even published two series where the latter appears) and Pennington was in a Mirage book, along with plans for Keno at one point...

Why are the original movie trilogy characters off the table? It was my understanding that Mirage had the rights - which is why Tokka and Rahzar showed up in things long after the movies (and you guys have even published two series where the latter appears) and Pennington was in a Mirage book, along with plans for Keno at one point...

No clue. Might be that the actors have some sort of rights with the character, but that's pure speculation.